I read today that the operator of several Denny’s restaurants in Florida will be adding a 5% surcharge to meals to cover Obamacare when it is implemented in 2014. Big news story! Actually this is nothing new. All businesses add to their prices to cover all kinds of costs; overhead, labor, materials and supplies, insurance, real property, and yes, even taxes. That’s the way businesses stay in business. They sell their product or service for cost plus an additional markup for profit. If new costs are laid upon them, they just add it to their sales price.

What is different, and smart, about this move is that rather than folding the increase into the total cost of the meal, the surcharge will be evident and everyone will know exactly what it is for. Continue reading →

How to pay for Social Security is the wrong question. The real question we should be asking ourselves is should the federal government even be in the retirement fund business. The same thing applies to health care. Is it the federal government’s purview to be supplying public health insurance. Continue reading →

I received the following list of quotes by Barack Obama about Christianity to my Facebook page today, and following it is my comment, contending with Obama’s ideas.

#1 “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation.”

#2 “We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation.”

#3 “Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or we could go with Deuteronomy which suggest stoning your child if he strays from the faith?” Continue reading →

I was thinking today, discussing the topic with a friend, about how the welfare/nanny state came to be. Over the last half century, liberals have cultivated a huge voting block by promising endless government programs to redistribute American wealth from the “haves,” the earners, to the “have-nots,” who depend on government largess for their subsistence. I wondered what will be the future of this country? If the programs (and the debt) continue to grow, taxing the working class producers in order to provide more for the greedy piglets sucking at the teats of the huge government sow (and they’re the ones calling big business greedy!) eventually the sow will run dry. Either workers will quit working at their ever increasingly fruitless labors, because government taxes them beyond their ability to support themselves, or businesses leave the US for a more business friendly climate, leaving their employees jobless. Either way, there is greater demand on government resources and less and less revenue coming in.

Religion aside, and deleting the first two, if the Eight Commandments had been proposed by some ancient pre-carnate version of FDR or other modern liberal, in a non-Christian orientation, and were based instead on having good feelings, a document that could be accepted by modern liberalism, we would be living in a very different world today. Imagine a world with no murder, no hatred, no stealing, no lying, no adultery,…don’t these sound like liberal platitudes? (except for that last one, you know, free sex, and all,…maybe the Seven Commandments,…but then the lack of infidelity would certainly make life more peaceful.) I like this version of “Imagine” better than John Lennon’s.

But alas, that is not the world we live in. Such gooey cliches don’t hold much sway over those intent on doing evil in the world. “Can’t we all just get along?” just doesn’t rule the day. Even morals sans God, morals based on community, the common good, won’t bring the wicked in line. Continue reading →

Climate Change: The scientist who claimed that global warming threatens polar bears is under investigation. There’s a hole in Earth’s greenhouse. A cooler era lies ahead. That hiss is the hot air coming out of alarmists’ balloon.

The global warming fraud is coming apart faster than the alarmists can repackage and rebrand their fairy tale. Their elaborately constructed yarn can’t hold together much longer. There are just too many loose ends:

Obama wants to “investigate” to be sure no oil companies or gas stations are gouging the American public with high prices, yet he continues to fight against the American interests with anti-oil, anti-business policies that force the price of gas higher and higher. The following is from an article posted at Fox News:

Shell Oil Company has announced it must scrap efforts to drill for oil this summer in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska. The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. The move has angered some in Congress and triggered a flurry of legislation aimed at stripping the EPA of its oil drillingoversight. Continue reading →

More hogwash, anti-business, global warming nonsense regulations and restrictions from BHO, by executive order, skirting Congress and the will of the people. Government telling business how to conduct their business. Like the government has such a great record. Worse, BHO, who has never run any kind of business, telling Americans how to conduct their business. The race is on! Can America hold on 21 more months? How much more “Hope and Change” can we stand? Fight, people, fight!

The following from an article at Judicial Watch, Inc.:

All federal agencies and private companies that deal with the U.S. government must identify their vulnerabilities to the impacts of global warming and develop a climate change adaptation plan, as per an executive order quietly signed by President Obama.

That means they must appoint a “climate change adaptation specialist,” participate in climate adaptation workshops and educate every employee throughout the year. Continue reading →

Rush Limbaugh has said it many times, “Words have meaning.” Unless you’re a liberal, that is. Then they’re just tools to deceive and manipulate whomever you are speaking to. There is no shame associated with telling bold-faced lies, regardless of how utterly ridiculous and unbelievable they may be. You would think liberals would squirm uncomfortably when faced with their breach of the truth, but they ignore it like a duck ignores the rain.

Following is from an article from Hot Air about comments from Obama, poster boy for slogans and gimmicks, denouncing — you guessed it — slogans and gimmicks. Normal folks would consider it hypocritical, but to a liberal it is just tactics.

Barack Obama wants America to know that this country can’t move forward on just slogans and gimmicks. No, he wasn’t speaking ironically at the Congressional Correspondent’s Dinner, but as Conservatives 4 Palin notes, he went off of his TelePrompter to try to zing Sarah Palin on “drill, baby, drill.” Unfortunately, Obama’s practically the poster child for the ills he decries: (Follow link below for video, and to read Obama quote and the rest of the HotAir article.)

Sen. Chuck Schumer accidentally revealed the Democrat budget strategy on a conference call that he was unaware news media were listening in on. According to a report from Fox News, “Schumer had scheduled a conference call with reporters, but apparently didn’t realize journalists were already on and started giving off pointers on how to talk to reporters about the budget process.” His instruction to fellow Democrats was to call everything the Republicans did “extreme.” Continue reading →

Al Gore has gotten filthy rich pulling the wool over the eyes of all the Chicken Littles of the world, and he is laughing all the way to the bank. Since leaving political office with a net worth of $2M, Al has drummed up over $200M with his scam. Oh, you stupid, gullible fools. The only thing “inconvenient” is that all you PC dupes are forcing the rest of us to pay for your silliness.

The following is from an editorial in the Washington Times. Really great stuff.

Perhaps Mr. Gore knows this (that global warming is a fraud.) Last year, he reportedly dropped $8.9 million on a new mansion in an exclusive California neighborhood perilously close to the Pacific. With six bedrooms, six fireplaces and nine baths, Mr. Gore’s palatial ocean-view estate hardly reflects the carbon austerity he expects from everyone else. He was even caught a few years ago by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research failing to extinguish all of the lights in his larger home during “Earth Hour” in the Volunteer State. (Follow this link to read the whole article.)

PS Beware all you who would jump on the “greenie” bandwagon (including wind turbine proponents.) Look before you leap, or you may step in something.

Do Obama administration officials have no shame at all? How can they stand before a crowd of people and tell bald faced lies with a smile on their face, knowing full well that no one listening to them believes a word coming out of their mouth? How do they sleep at night after making such fools of themselves? What kind of character does a person have to have to lie like that, consistently and continually? The latest example is Janet Napolitano, bragging about what a wonderful job O had done to secure the US/Mexican border, making life safe and wonderful for all the border residents. Continue reading →

Here’s a novel idea. When we get ourselves into a financial jam, scratching our heads how we are going to pay the bills, we realize that maybe it’s time to sell the boat, or that condo that we only stay in one week a year. It’s that or take a second job. Since our time is already stretched to the limit, we reluctantly decide to sell one of our prized possessions. Who else can you think of who might benefit from this sage advice? Maybe our Uncle Sam? You wouldn’t believe how much “stuff” he has lying around. Continue reading →

The message starts by listing America’s ten poorest cities, based on the percentage of people living below the poverty line. It then identifies what all ten cities have in common: They have all been run by Democrats for at least 25 years. (Is anyone surprised?) Some of these cities have never once elected a Republican Mayor in over a century! What it doesn’t say is that the school systems in these cities have been run by the Democrats for the same period – in most cases much longer.

The lesson here is that you cannot fix a problem until you come to grips with its source. Most of America has lived in denial about our public education system for at least 30 years. After all, every poll says that the public believes that Democrats are better at handling the issue of education. How can this delusion persist, when the school system in every major American city is a disaster, and every single one of them is run exclusively by a Democrat machine in cahoots with their union partners? (read more at link)

Ideological budget battles between GOP and Dems in congress mask the real battle erupting across America– the battle between the makers and the takers. Entrepreneurs and other working Americans, the makers, are growing tired of government’s rapacious hand in their financial pocket and they are becoming more aggressive and more outspoken in their protests. Dems should expect this trend to continue.

With $5/gallon gas closer to reality than 7% unemployment, Americans want oil companies to get out there and ‘drill, baby drill.’ Some surveys show a majority of us support drilling in Alaska’s oil rich Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. If the American people seem to be demanding more drilling, why are we still sending billions and billions of dollars to unfriendly governments in the Middle East, while we sit on these rich oil reserves? The answer is simple, oil companies are just too damn lazy to get out there and drill for it – President Obama basically said so on Friday. (To read more about Obama’s audacious charge, follow the link to Glenn Beck’s article at The Blaze.)

Here is another story revealing that wind energy is not an economically feasible energy alternative. IBD cites a study of green energy jobs in the UK and their effect on traditional jobs. ” (F)or every job created in the alternative energy sector, almost four jobs are lost in the rest of the economy.” So not only is wind energy much more costly to produce than by traditional methods, heavily dependent on government subsidies to compete, but it costs net jobs, which the taxpayers have to subsidize through unemployment benefits. Studies throughout Europe confirm the findings of the UK report. Lost jobs are an added hidden cost of green energy. Continue reading →

The following transcript from the Rush Limbaugh Show discusses the sad state of our nation. The Progressives are well on their way to destroying this once proud American people, turning us into a third-world entity dependent upon our government for our very survival. These egotistical, elitist pied pipers are more than happy to accept the charge as our overseers, leading us about with their alluring tune, towards our downfall. Surely our forefathers are spinning in their graves, after having fought so hard to birth and grow the greatest nation on earth, many sacrificing all in the process. How can so many be so blind, so selfish, to piss away such a great treasure. We face an ill fate if we do not turn things around.

RUSH LIMBAUGH: “Government payouts — including Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance — make up more than a third of total wages and salaries of the U.S. population, a record figure that will only increase if action isn’t taken before the majority of Baby Boomers enter retirement.” Now, we had that chart, we put it up on the website last week, and we showed the three biggest entitlements in this country. We all know Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, but unemployment compensation? The payment of unemployment benefits is almost as high as Social Security in this country. Folks, we are not going to survive as a nation, not the way we’ve been founded, with this kind of sloth and laziness and feeding at the public trough. (For full transcript, follow link.)

Has anyone noticed the price of gas lately? Not creeping up, but shooting up. Has anyone noticed the hue and cry of the media blaming the President, and demanding that he do something about it? The clamoring is all over the news. No, wait. It isn’t. Why not? During the last gas crisis when Bush was president, they were blaming him and calling for his head, but now that Obama is in the Oval Office, nary a peep. What gives? (As if you don’t already know.) Continue reading →

From an article by Walter Williams — We need a rule that combines our Constitution with simple morality and plain common sense. I think it immoral for Congress to forcibly take one American’s earnings and give them to another American to whom they do not belong. If a person did the same thing privately, he’d be convicted of theft and jailed. We might ask ourselves whether acts that are clearly immoral and despicable when done privately are any less so when done by Congress. Close to two-thirds of the federal budget, so-called entitlements, represent what thieves do: redistribute income. To read more, follow the link

After the past few weeks, many GOP conservatives – and Tea Partiers – are beginning to understand how some of the Obamaphiles feel. Like Obama supporters, conservatives worked hard to secure leadership that, we believed, both understood what was best for America and had the courage to stand firm for real change. But the first months of GOP congressional control have been disappointing; (Read more at the following link.)

McLEAN, Va. (AP/ The Blaze) – Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address has inspired Americans for generations, but consider his jarring remarks in 1862 to a White House audience of free blacks, urging them to leave the U.S. and settle in Central America.

“For the sake of your race, you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white people,” Lincoln said, promoting his idea of colonization: resettling blacks in foreign countries on the belief that whites and blacks could not coexist in the same nation. Continue reading →

Another Big Brother government intrusion into our local civics is in regard to street signs. The federal government is telling your town how the sign on your street corner must be designed and displayed. According to a report by ABC News, signs must be 6″ high, rather than 4″, no more ALL CAPS, mandatory reflective lettering, etc. All this is mandated at the local taxpayers’ expense with no regard to the financial situation in which many towns and cities may find themselves, trying to find ways to tighten their belts.

Where does the federal government find the authority to dictate our local business? This is another one of many egregious overreaches of federal power. They blatantly bully state and local governments with no regard at all for proper authority. Their attitude seems to be, “Do it, or you’ll be sorry!” They know they hold the power, if not the authority, and they know that state and local governments will cower and fold, in fear of losing their federal grants or whatever. It’s the classic carrot and stick disciplinary approach to eliciting desired behavior. Continue reading →

This notion of in-state vs. out-of-state tuition for illegal immigrants is insane. Why is it even a consideration? Why are they even allowed to go to our universities, state supported schools where their tuition is already subsidized by tax payer monies? For that matter, why are they allowed a primary and secondary education at our expense? We don’t owe them an education if they are here illegally. They should be deported! I can understand the justification for giving them emergency medical aid if they need it. It’s the humanitarian thing to do, but as soon as they are patched up or treated in whatever manner is needed, deport them. They’re not supposed to be here! Who doesn’t get that? Continue reading →

So what is Progressivism? Who are these wicked, evil demons bent on destroying America? According to Progressive Living, “American progressivism had its roots originally in the US transition from a nation of small, independent farmers with tremendous economic opportunities to a nation of employees and consumers at the mercy of large corporations that, moreover, systematically plundered resources, exploited labor, and corrupted the government.” Against such oppression by capitalists, progressives organized worker collectives to fight wage and workplace abuses and unbearable child labor conditions. Further, women were organized to fight for suffrage. Groups formed to advocate for the rights of the newly freed slaves. Modern day progressives include animal rights advocates, environmentalists, gay rights activists, any minority that can be portrayed as a victim exploited by conservatism, capitalism, or the wealthy. Continue reading →

Well, the election is over. So what now? What are the important issues facing America, the issues that a revised group of politicians must face? Many would say the economy, others, jobs or health care. Certainly these are important and will receive much attention, provoking a lot of political posturing in the halls of government, blogging across the internet, and discussions at the barbershop or at the backyard fence; and all of it will be covered by the various news media. But the biggest issue facing America, the issue that will encompass all others including those mentioned above, the issue that will determine our future, is — who will lead us. Continue reading →

It’s the first week after January 21, 2011. The new Republican Congress has attempted to pass it’s first piece of legislation, only to have it blocked by the Democrats. There is a deafening roar from the MSM as they all cry, “Democrats are the new party of ‘No!’ Democrats are the party of ‘No!’ Democrats are the….” No, wait. Wait, wait, wait. All the yelling and shouting is just me in anticipation, premature and misguided anticipation apparently, of the hue and cry to come from the main stream media against the obstructionist Democrats blocking progress by the party in power. Actually, as I regain my composure and listen…, I hear absolutely nothing from the MSM, not a peep regarding this issue they have ballyhooed for the last two years, zip, nada, zilch. Wait, what is that? Oh, nothing. Someone across the room dropped a pin. Continue reading →

The federal government is offering $8B as start up and improvement capital for various high speed rail systems throughout the US, allotting $1B over each of the next five years. California and Florida would receive the lion’s share of the funding. So what’s wrong with that? High speed rail is good, right? Continue reading →

Every time conservatives call for cutting taxes, liberals come back with “What are you going to cut? Social Security, and make old people eat cat food? Medicare, and kill old people? Close prisons, and put criminals back on the street?” (Actually, liberals would like that last one, but, however they need to frame the argument to make their point at the time.) “Should we cut police and fire protection? Education?” These are the kinds of outlandish, arm flailing, spittle slinging, stupefied, exasperated arguments we get as to why we can’t cut spending. Though spending by this recent Congress has risen 21.4% over the last two years according to the CBO, there is nowhere to find any cuts without endangering our lives and the very future of our nation. Cal Thomas has a very good article regarding this subject at Townhall.com.Continue reading →

(To be fair, I hope everyone will read my article through to the end to get the full scope of my point, rather than get frustrated half way through and blow me off as a racist. I’m not.)

Juan Williams is the modern day Kunte Kinte. When his modern day liberal masters, NPR, recently caught him running off the plantation, out of their control, they figuratively chopped off his foot. In this instance they chopped off his livelihood by firing him. Williams is just the latest of many African-Americans (I hate to use that term, because 98% have never been to Africa, and neither have their parents, nor grandparents, great grandparents,… We’re Americans,) he is the latest of many who have been so ill-treated by their perceived benefactors. Many conservatives such as Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele, Alan Keyes, etc. are shunned and ridiculed as “Uncle Toms.” What makes Williams a special case is that he is a liberal. He was warned, but when he chose his personal freedom and constitutional rights, he had to be punished. Continue reading →

Three boys were on the school playground after lunch, one was a liberal lad, and one a conservative. The other boy was just a poor kid doing the best he could in life. The three boys had two candy bars among them. (Guess who was without.) The liberal boy noticed the poor kid’s empty hand and thought it unfair. He saw a need and a cause, and aimed to do something about it. He ordered the conservative boy to share his candy with the poor young fellow. “Didn’t your mama ever teach you to share?” he chastened, failing to recognize the hypocrisy in his demand. Continue reading →

This is an open letter to my own local Board of Education, and to all boards statewide. Be aware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing that prowls in our midst, aiming to change America as we know it.

Dear BOE Member,

In spite of the brouhaha last fall over the Partnership For 21st Century Skills program attempting to insinuate their socialist philosophy into our education system by revising history and how it is taught in our school classrooms; and in spite of Marc Basnight’s letter to the NCDPI against the progressive program; apparently it is still alive and well, as demonstrated by the presentation to the Dare County BOE at their last meeting, as reported in an article in the recent Coastland Times. Having not been in attendance at the meeting, I know nothing more than the sentence that was written in the news release, but apparently angry push back from the public last fall, not just locally, but statewide, did little good, as the Progressives plod onward with their agenda, shaking off our wrath like water off a duck’s back. We shouldn’t be surprised that they wouldn’t give it up easily. Their plot is a grand and heinous scheme to capture the minds of our youth, thereby our future, converting our free nation into a socialist machine. We must remain vigilant and continue the fight. Continue reading →

The Shoveler-In-Chief, though short on executive experience, must have spent a lot of time in the past working in the barnyard, because he is really good at shoveling the BS. In an article by Peter Baker in the NYT Sunday Magazine, Obama admitted that he “realized too late that ‘there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects’ when it comes to public works.” To late, he says. Obama may not have understood that there were no shovel ready jobs when he promised them to win support for the stimulus bill, but according to David Brooks in an interview with Mark Shields on PBS, Obama admitted to being aware of it as far back as a year ago. I don’t recall hearing any correction from the president, no “Oops! My bad.” He continued on with the charade, defending the bill, even proposing another one (but don’t call it a stimulus bill.) Seems that Obama and his administration have been the only ones doing any shoveling. Continue reading →

Congress is financially schizophrenic. On the one hand, they treat our money as their own, generously allowing us to keep a portion of it after taxes, whatever portion they deem fair. On the other hand, they spend it as if it were other people’s money, as Bernard McGuirk commented on the Hannity show, referring to Congress as “…a pack of teenage girls at the mall with Daddy’s credit card.” The sick thing about it is that they use our own money to bribe us. They take our money, promising to buy us things with it, and expect us to be grateful. Earmarks are one of the most egregious examples of the flagrant violations of the public trust by our elected “servants.” Continue reading →

Obama was out pushing his infrastructure improvement program recently, theoretically trying to create jobs and jumpstart the fractious economy. The benefit of such programs is questionable though. Granted, there is a great need for repairs to our bridges, highways and rail systems, but does running up huge deficits (read future tax hikes) for these kinds of projects do anything to stimulate the economy?

There are two ways the government can implement the funding of these “shovel-ready projects.” They can collect taxes from you and then pay once the project is finished, or they can order the project to commence and borrow the money to pay for it. With our credit crazy system that does not require a balanced budget, you know what they do. These government funded projects provide a temporary benefit, but at what great price? Shifting money from one pocket to another doesn’t make one any richer, and neither does collecting taxes only to give the money back. Granted the infrastructure improvement projects are needed and getting something back for our tax dollar is better than just handing out a welfare check, but don’t be fooled by the claims that government make-work will stimulate the economy. Continue reading →

The National Organization of Women (NOW,) California chapter continues to support Democrat candidate Jerry Brown for governor over the Republican Meg Whitman, in spite of the recent flap about an aide calling Ms. Whitman a “whore” during a strategy session with Brown. The brouhaha arose when the salty conversation was accidentally caught on a cell phone and then made public. The California NOW chapter president Parry Bellasalma defended the slur by the Brown aide, saying Continue reading →

We’ve all heard the quip, “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” Opponents of homosexuality premise that it is unnatural and immoral and should not be practiced, while proponents advocate for “equal rights.” The Human Rights Campaign (HRC,) one of the proponents, is having their annual fund raiser. Thought you might be interested in knowing just exactly what the HRC stands for, and who is supporting them.

There is much maligning of negative campaigning. The media posits that the people are sick of it, that they just want to hear the contestants discuss the issues. Well maybe that’s so and maybe it isn’t. Regardless of what anyone thinks about negative campaigning, it still seems to be very effective, so is it good or is it bad? Is it a necessary evil? Continue reading →

A huge financial dilemma faces our country. A faltering government program is threatening to fail unless something is done about it. But what? What can we do that will be fair and equitable? Basically our government has screwed us, forcing us into an ever-growing Ponzi scheme that is about to collapse.

Though originally proffered as a “supplement” to personal retirement, it became a promise for future security. Senior citizens came to depend on it as their pension, complaining that it wasn’t enough and demanding more. Vote buyers were happy to increase the budget for this program, increasing benefits beyond what recipients had ever paid in, creating what would become the largest boondoggle in our nation’s history. To make matters worse, our government raided the coffers to pay for other programs, a more palatable solution than raising taxes, knowing all the while that it would be an unsustainable practice, and would pose a huge bill for future generations. When warned of impending disaster, they shut their eyes tight, stuck their fingers into their ears, and yelled, “I can’t hear you! La-la-la-la-la-di-da!” Now, accelerated by the phenomenon of the Baby Boom, disaster is at the doorstep. What to do? Continue reading →

The wisdom of the liberal Democrats, Obama in particular, isn’t getting through to the American populace. The people just don’t get it, and the purveyors of leftist ideology are frustrated that they can’t quite get their point across to these dimwits to make them understand that Obama knows best. Good plebeians should be quiet and do as they are told. So the left seems to think. Regarding their failure to convince the citizens of Obama’s brilliance, they chalk it up to the obtuseness of the recalcitrant masses. The elitists, in their sense of pompous self-importance, can’t conceive that their political precepts could be wrong. The people are just too stupid to understand what is good for them. Dan Kennedy has a great article about this very issue on the Business and Media Institute site.

If gold is supposed to be such a great investment right now, why is everybody and his brother on TV trying to sell it? Seems to me they should be quietly trying to buy up more. If the price of gold has gone up four-fold, maybe the profit has already been made, and they are trying to unload their stash to some unenlightened dupe. Just something to think about before you succumb to the slick sales pitch, and part with your hard earned dollars. Continue reading →

Debate over Obamacare as an issue had died down immediately after passage, but with its consequences now coming to light, it seems to be winding up again. With recent news stories about insurance companies no longer offering individual policies for children, reports of premiums increasing 15-25% instead of going down as had been promised, and now McDonalds fearing it may have to cancel its employee health plans; the spotlight is again focusing on item #1 of Obama’s Bucket List. (Great article by John Stossell.) The health care law appears to be coming back to bite his narrow backside.

Walter Williams has written a good piece about the hidden taxes we pay due to the fact that businesses pass all corporate taxes on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. Essentially we are paying the corporate taxes when we purchase the product. Legislators have designed the taxing process this way to hide some tax collection, making it less offensive to the citizenry. We are fooled into thinking someone else, in this case big business, is helping us out by sharing the tax burden. It seems more equitable this way. No one follows the money to see that in the end, we are still paying all the taxes. Continue reading →

It never ceases to amaze me how the left so grossly distorts the arguments of the right in their attempt to paint conservatives as evil, greedy, extremist antisocialists out to rape the country. For instance, when the right calls for cutting taxes, the left retorts, “You want to cut police, firemen, and teachers,” as if there are no public administrators, secretaries, custodial personnel or grounds keepers who might be cut first, or bike path or marina projects to be postponed, or frivolous grants to be curtailed in lieu of threatening public safety. There can’t be found any belt tightening of social programming? It’s a nice gesture, but maybe our government can’t afford to be giving away free cell phones right now. There is plenty to be cut before resorting to laying off police, firemen, and teachers.

If Republicans call to rein in spiraling Medicare costs, in our minds through better policing of fraud and waste, and by inspiring greater competition, the left accuses us of “wanting old people to die.” A cut to school budgets would cause “our children to go hungry.” God forbid that they cut the athletic programs first. The libs twist everything we say into some preposterous scheme with evil intentions. Continue reading →

Congressional reforms are desperately needed, reforms of its character, an institutional attitude adjustment, so to speak. Until the illicit motives and daily practices of its members are collectively corrected, any legislation coming out of that body will be tainted and not worthy of the office and the represented people. If the current batch of representatives can’t or won’t enact these reforms, we need to elect some who will. The following list deserves a separate post for each item, but I’ll save that for another day.

Term limits. – Time in Congress should be a term of service, not a career. Twelve years seems to be the general consensus of proponents for an appropriate stint in either house. (I think that may even be too long, but it may serve as a good compromise. It still provides for 24 years total.) The excuse, “Why send a good servant home, when he can do so much more?” I’m sure that out of a nation of 320 million people, we can find 535 quality replacements every 12 years. Unseasoned delegates, yet to become cozy with the lobbyists, the good-ol’-boy network, and “the way things are done” routines, would be less corruptible and more respectful and responsible to the folks who sent them, and will probably have fresher ideas for solving problems and leading the country. Plus, freedom from constant campaigning will free up time for them to do the job they were sent there to do. Continue reading →